The most adorable sights in traffic could go away.
Not content with banning books, Florida is now looking to ban owners from allowing their dogs to put their heads out of a car window. Fox News reports that the animal welfare bill presented by State Senator Lauren Book would prohibit dog owners from allowing their pet to "extend its head or any other body part outside a motor vehicle window while the person is operating the motor vehicle on a public roadway."
The bill does not mention other pets, so if you're a Floridian and your pet 'gator loves to get some air on its snout, you're all good.
Whether it's a Subaru Outback or Ford F-150, there's nothing more adorable than seeing a dog having a great time with its nose in the breeze and taking in all the smells. However, there is good reason for the prohibition. It's part of a larger animal welfare bill that also seeks to restrict animal testing for cosmetic products, prohibit the declawing of cats, and create a public registry of animal-abuse offenders.
On top of all that, there's a good reason for preventing dogs from sticking their heads out of the window of moving vehicles. It can seriously irritate mucous membranes in the dog's nose, but, more importantly, it makes the dog's head vulnerable to being hit by debris.
If you want an idea of how dangerous it actually is for dogs, imagine a stone or rock that can crack a windscreen hitting a dog, or dust and grit getting into its eyes.
What's weird, though, is that the specific restriction would be redundant as, if the bill is passed, it requires dogs must also be on a harness or in a pet seatbelt when traveling in a car. It would also, in theory, stop people from driving with dogs on their lap as well as riding without restraint in truck beds on public roads. It's good news for the automakers as these kinds of laws are spreading and creating an industry for pet-specific car accessories.
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